Preschool for All not yet living up to its name

Friday

The much-touted, state-funded Preschool for All program doesn't really live up to its name, at least not yet.

WITH TABLE

The much-touted, state-funded Preschool for All program doesn't really live up to its name, at least not yet.

But the program's supporters say that if all goes according to plan during the next five years, any Illinois parents who want to enroll their 3- and 4-year-olds in state-subsidized, high-quality preschool will be able to do just that. Parents retain the option of sending their kids to private preschools or of keeping them out of preschool.

Preschool for All is intended to build on Illinois' long-standing tradition of early childhood education, which many view as important to helping kids have successful experiences in their subsequent formal education.

"We're convinced the benefits (of early education) will play out for kids in our public school systems," said Kay Henderson, early childhood division administrator at the Illinois State Board of Education.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a Democrat, proposed the new preschool program in February 2006.

In announcing the initiative, Blagojevich said the state should fund it by spending $45 million a year for three years. That would enable an additional 32,000 children to be served. The existing state early childhood education program already was serving about 75,000 youngsters deemed to be "at risk" for future academic troubles because of factors such as living in low-income households on in homes where English is not the main language spoken.

"Nothing is more important to parents than their children," Blagojevich said in a written statement when he unveiled Preschool for All. "And nothing is more important to a child's future than getting a good education. And that's where preschool comes in."

Not everyone agreed with the governor.

In a column published in the State Journal-Register in March 2006, Collin Hitt of the Illinois Policy Institute cited the claims of some researchers that "early formal education is ineffectual."

"Whether a student attends public or private preschool, whether she enters kindergarten with skills superior to her classmates, she likely will lose that edge by the end of kindergarten," wrote Hitt. "And it is all but guaranteed that that child's prekindergarten education will have been a nonfactor by the time she exits elementary school."

Hitt's position remains unchanged today. He contends the purpose of Preschool for All is political, not educational.

"Preschool for All is about providing free services to middle class voters," he said in e-mailed comments this week. "Preschool for All takes a program designed to serve poor kids and uses it to deliver free services to middle-class families. There is no clear educational benefit to doing this."

But such arguments did not win over the General Assembly, which overwhelmingly voted last year to create Preschool for All. The program now is in its second year.

Lawmakers and the governor authorized $45 million for the program in fiscal year 2007, which ended June 30.

That funding was awarded to more than 100 preschool programs and more than a dozen at-risk infant-toddler programs, all of which were expected to serve about 10,000 additional children in the 2006-07 year, according to a State Board of Education report issued in November 2006.

As the program expands, the first priority will be for programs that serve kids who are at risk of academic problems at school, the report said. The next funding priority will be for families earning up to four times the federal poverty level, which translates to $80,000 for a family of four.

For the present state fiscal year, the second for "Preschool for All," lawmakers authorized $29.6 million. That falls short of the $45 million that was called for when the program was unveiled. It is also nearly $40 million less than the $69.3 million increase that Blagojevich sought, said Justin DeJong, spokesman for the governor's budget office.

The lower appropriation will have an impact, but it won't knock Preschool for All entirely off track, supporters say.

"Did we slow down? Just a little bit. Just a little bit," said Jerry Stermer, president of Voices for Illinois Children and a member of the Early Learning Council that put together the blueprint for what became Preschool for All.

"We're still on the trajectory," Stermer added. "It clearly needs to be fulfilled. And during the next 3 1/2 years, we've got to see the quality increases and the expanded numbers increases happen simultaneously."

He said several challenges remain:

*Ensuring there are enough qualified teachers to meet the anticipated boost in demand for expanded preschool programs.

*Ensuring there is enough physical space for the programs to operate.

*Attracting more bilingual early childhood education teachers to serve the growing numbers of children who live in homes where English is a second language.

Colleges and other institutions of higher education already are working to train more students for careers in early childhood education, Stermer said, and a statewide capital program would ease concerns about adequate space.

Educating some of Illinois' youngest residents was one of the top issues that a dozen Republican women in the House of Representatives heard about in recent days during a "listening tour."

"I was shocked about how many people had a conversation about how they need their children to be well-educated and competitive in the world," said Rep. Sandra Pihos, R-Glen Ellyn. "It was a theme that resounded throughout the state."

"They see the value of early education in helping their children get a good start, and they want it for everybody. That's really it," she added. "So we need to continue to put the resources forward to allow that opportunity."

Blagojevich has yet to reveal his plans for funding early childhood education in fiscal year 2009 and beyond.

DeJong said future expansion of Preschool for All, along with new funding for kindergarten-through-12th grade education, "is certainly something the governor will continue to push for in future years because these investments are critical to the future success of Illinois children."

Stermer said that while nobody knows yet exactly how many young children will participate in Preschool for All once it's fully implemented, "We'll know that we're there when programs no longer have waiting lists."

Adriana Colindres can be reached at (217) 782-6292 or Adriana.colindres@sj-r.com

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CHART:

Funding in recent years for state’s Early Childhood Block Grant program